Quickstart

Get freshdock watching a container in about a minute. No config file is required: freshdock is driven by container labels and environment variables, notifications included.

1. Install

Pick one (full options in the README):

cargo install freshdock                          # from crates.io
# or
docker pull ghcr.io/turbootzz/freshdock:latest   # container image

2. See what freshdock would do (read-only)

Label a container to opt it in, then run check, which never changes anything:

services:
  web:
    image: nginx:1.27
    labels:
      - "freshdock.enable=true"   # opt in; mode defaults to watch

freshdock check

You get a table of opted-in containers and whether each has an update available. The CLI reference explains what the status cells mean.

3. Run the daemon

freshdock is opt-in and defaults enabled containers to watch (notice updates, never restart). Start the scheduler:

docker run -d \
  --name freshdock \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro \
  ghcr.io/turbootzz/freshdock:latest run

This is the minimal-watch.yml example. A read-only socket is enough for watch.

To avoid labelling every container, FRESHDOCK_WATCH_ALL=true includes them all unless they opt out. See watching every container.

4. Let it update something

Switch a container to an updating mode and give the daemon a writable socket:

    labels:
      - "freshdock.enable=true"
      - "freshdock.mode=nightly"   # check at 04:00 daily; recreate if newer
      - "freshdock.notify=true"    # if you've configured a notifier

Updates are health-gated with automatic rollback: a broken new image is reverted, not left running.

Next steps

• Configuration reference: every label, setting, and env var.
• Scheduling: modes and cron syntax.
• Notifications: webhook, Discord, Telegram, SMTP.
• Registry authentication: private images.
• Deployment: systemd, socket permissions, compatibility.
• Troubleshooting: start here when something misbehaves.
• Coming from Watchtower?